Canon's EOS Rebel T7i DSLR offers an improved autofocus system in both standard and Live View modes, giving owners of older Rebels a compelling reason to upgrade.

It's been just about two years since Canon last updated its top-end Rebel cameras, the T6i and T6s. The new T7i ($749.99, body only) replaces the T6i (while our Editors' Choice T6s is being supplanted in the market by the EOS 77D). The T7i maintains the same 24MP resolution as its predecessor, but the sensor is different, implementing Canon's Dual Pixel AF system for smooth autofocus when recording video or shooting stills in Live View mode. The main autofocus system, used when shooting with the optical finder, is also vastly upgraded, sporting 45 cross-type focus points, the same as you get with the pricier 80D. The T7i is our Editors' Choice for entry-level SLRs in part thanks to its updated focus capabilities, but also due to a new interface that guides novices through the multitude of settings available.

Design and Features

The T7i is almost identical to the T6i in design, with only a slight change in the rear controls setting the two apart. It measures 3.9 by 5.2 by 3.0 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.1 pounds. Black is the only color option. Canon offers it as a body, but you can also get it with a new, compact kit lens, the EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM ($249.99); it's not a retractable design, but it's noticeably smaller than the previous EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM.

The optical viewfinder is a pentamirror, which is typical for entry-level SLRs. It's smaller and a little dimmer than the pentaprism you get on higher-end cameras, like Canon's own 80D, but you'll need to be an experienced photographer or looking at models side by side to notice. Pentax offers some low-cost models with pentaprism finders, including the K-70.

Front controls are scant, with the lens release button, a depth of field preview button, the flash release, and an IR receiver for an optional wireless remote being the only adornments of note. You won't find any buttons or dials to the left of the hot shoe on the top plate, just a light-up indicator to tell you if the built-in Wi-Fi is turned on.

To the right of the hot shoe and pop-up flash you get the standard Mode dial, with the Off/On/Video switch nestled into its side. Three buttons—focus point select, ISO, and Display—sit ahead of it in a row, along with the control dial and shutter release.

Menu and Info buttons are placed on the rear, to the left of the eyecup. Like other Rebel models, the viewfinder is a pentamirror, which is lighter than the glass pentaprism viewfinder you get in higher-end models like the 80D, but also not as large to the eye.

The Live View button sits to the right of the eyecup, and doubles as a Record button when the Rebel is set to video mode. Minus and plus buttons sit at the far right corner, past the textured, recessed rear thumb rest. The EV compensation, Q, and Wi-Fi buttons are arranged in a triangle below the thumb rest, with the four-way control pad (White Balance, AF, Picture Mode, Drive, and a center Set button) below, and Play and Delete rounding out the physical controls.

The Rebel T7i also has a new guide mode that better helps novice shooters use the camera, explaining photographic techniques in real-world terms. Also added is a new scene mode, Group Photo, that uses face detection to determine how much depth of field is required to get everyone in a group shot properly focused, and sets the f-stop accordingly.

The guide mode is a plus for folks who just want to take quality photos, without knowing the ins and outs of f-stops and shutter speeds. You can certainly let the camera do the driving in a fully automatic mode, or use the numerous scene options to optimize settings for fast action, portraits, landscapes, and the like. But if you want to learn a bit more, and need a helping hand, having the camera reassure you that a smaller f-stop number is better for shooting in low light and blurring backgrounds is a plus. Experienced photographers can turn off the guide and return to the more direct experience to change settings via the various buttons and dials, and the touch-screen Q interface (which goes away when the guide is turned on).

If you have the guide mode turned off, pressing Q loads the virtual control panel, an overlay menu that provides access to additional settings. You can use the physical controls to navigate, or touch directly on the 3-inch, 1040k-dot LCD. It's a vari-angle design, which means it swings out to the side and can tilt all the way forward through all the way down. There's no eye sensor, so the screen stays on when you bring the camera to your eye, but it does go black when you press the shutter button down to engage autofocus. The EOS 77D has an eye sensor, but costs $150 more.

Connectivity

Wi-Fi is built in, an expected feature in today's landscape. It lets you copy images and videos to your smartphone or tablet, or use your Android or iOS device as a remote control via the Camera Camera Connect app. There's also Bluetooth, so you can use Canon's new $50 BR-E1 remote to fire the shutter.

The app makes it easy to connect the camera to your phone, stepping you through the process. Images transfer very quickly, although you may find yourself twiddling your thumbs when sending longer video clips. The remote control interface is also quite strong. You see a live feed from the camera's lens on your phone's screen, and you can tap on any portion of the frame to set focus. Full manual controls are available, and you can snap photos or record video using the app.

The T7i has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot that supports UHS-I speeds at maximum. It's located on the side, so you can change the card even if the camera is set on a tripod. The battery is accessible via the bottom and charges in the included external battery charger. It's the same battery used by other Canon cameras, including the 77D SLR and mirrorless EOS M5 and M6. You'll find a 3.5mm microphone input, wired remote control port, micro USB, and mini HDMI ports on the left side.

Performance and Image Quality

The T7i is quite responsive. It starts, focuses, and fires in just about 0.4-second, so you can capture candid moments. Autofocus speed is very quick, with the camera locking focus and firing in 0.1-second in bright light, regardless of whether you use the rear LCD or optical viewfinder. The duration can be longer in very dim light—about 0.2-second using the viewfinder and 0.5-second using Live View.

Continuous shooting is available at a decent 6fps capture rate. If you're shooting JPGs with a modern UHS-I memory card there's no limit to how many shots you can capture in a sequence, but Raw+JPG capture limits you to 23 shots, and Raw nets 28. You won't have to wait long for all of those shots to clear the buffer, resetting your counter. With a SanDisk 95MBps card (the fastest available for UHS-I) it takes about five seconds.

You get a 45-point autofocus system when using the viewfinder. Each point is the more sensitive cross-type—it's the same AF system that Canon introduced with the 80D. It's really good, reliably locking onto moving targets and acing our moving target focus test without any slowdown. Nikon puts a 39-point system in its competing D5600 SLR, which is, to be frank, also really good. Not all of Nikon's points are cross-type, but the inclusion of the company's 3D Tracking tech makes up for it. The Canon can also track moving targets, but you'll have to let the camera decide what to lock onto—with Nikon, you can select a single focus point to start the tracking procedure.

The Dual Pixel AF system for Live View and video is new to the Rebel line, but has been proven in more expensive models. It puts phase detection focus right on the sensor by splitting each pixel into halves. The result is autofocus that's smooth and speedy, which isn't true of most other SLRs, which use contrast detection when framing shots with the LCD. The T7i doesn't have to go beyond the focus point and come back to it to lock on—that back-and-forth method takes some extra time, and is particularly jarring for video. There is a drop in speed when tracking subjects using Dual Pixel AF—it tops out at 4.5fps.

Dual Pixel AF is a system that's exclusive to Canon at this point. If you are considering a mirrorless camera as an alternative to an SLR—and if you're an entry-level photographer or casual user, you should—you'll get similar results. Our favorite mirrorless model in this price range is the Sony a6000, which focuses extremely fast, fires off images at up to 11.1fps, and is more compact than the T7i.

I used Imatest to see how the T7i's 24MP image sensor handles across its ISO range, from ISO 100 through 25600. The sensor delivers the best image quality at ISO 100, but that's also where it's least sensitive to light. It's most sensitive to light at ISO 25600, but as you climb higher up the ladder, noise and grain increase.

When shooting JPGs at default settings, the T7i keeps noise under 1.5 percent through ISO 3200. This isn't an earth-shattering result, but it's a solid one and, importantly, detail remains pretty strong here. It's not as crisp as you get in ISO 800 and below, so we do see some smudging in the smallest details of our test image. Photos suffer as you move to higher settings. Some lines are still visible at ISO 6400, but many have blurred together. At ISO 12800 and 25600 details are washed away. The Nikon D5600 actually nets a bit better quality at high ISOs—its output is just as blurry at ISO 25600, but its output is clearer at ISO 12800 and below.

You'll get clearer shots at higher ISO settings if you turn noise reduction to its Low setting, or you can take full control over images by shooting in Raw. The T7i's sensor delivers solid Raw output without too much grain through ISO 1600. At ISO 3200 and 6400 detail holds up better than it does in JPG, but there's also some image noise visible. Noise starts to wipe out the finest detail at ISO 12800, and is more of an issue at ISO 25600. The D5600 shows only a slight advantage in Raw image quality.

Where the T7i wins out, and wins big, over rival Nikon is in autofocus when shooting video. Parents unhappy with smartphone quality and looking for a one-camera solution to grab short videos of little ones to share with distant relatives will love the T7i's video capabilities. Its autofocus system recognizes changes in the scene quickly, and pleasantly racks focus to keep your subject crisp. You can tap on the screen to set a focus target, and doing so also engages tracking of said subject.

No, there's no 4K support, so if you're a serious videographer, look elsewhere. But 1080p, at 24, 30, or 60fps, is perfectly fine for sharing on the web. There's an internal microphone to capture audio; it's fine for what it is, but background noise can be an issue and you'll want to be fairly close to the camera for the clearest results. The T7i does have a standard mic input if you want to attach an external mic to improve sound quality.

Conclusions

The Canon EOS Rebel T7i is our Editors' Choice pick for entry-level SLRs. It's not the company's least expensive model—the Rebel T6 is, but its features are so out of date that we don't recommend buying it. For the extra money over the T6 you get a more modern image sensor, much better autofocus for both stills and video, a vari-angle touch screen, and other sundry improvements. Entry-level shooters will appreciate the guide mode, and photographers weened on smartphones will love the touch interface and ability to simply tap to set focus for stills or video.

Canon also gives photographers access to a strong lens system, with some solid low-cost options, like the ultra-wide EF-S 10-18mm and svelte 24mm f/2.8 as standouts. You can buy the T7i as a body only and add a lens of your choice, but many will opt to get it along with a bundled lens—a kit with an 18-55mm zoom costs about $900, and there's a premium $1,300 kit with a longer 18-135mm zoom.

Photographers not yet invested in a system have compelling alternatives to consider. Mirrorless cameras deliver SLR-quality images in smaller form factors. The Sony Alpha 6000 is our favorite entry-level model—we rate it a bit higher overall due to its lower cost and faster shooting rate, though you may be turned off by its lack of a touch screen. The Fujifilm X-T20 is another strong contenter, complete with a touch interface and 4K video capture, but it's about $100 more than the T7i when bought with a lens.

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About the Author

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at re... See Full Bio

Canon EOS Rebel T7i

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